Chapter Fifty

  The First Battalion is the strongest combat force in the Guard Brigade, surpassing even the Security Company and Engineer Company. This is because the First Battalion has the most veteran soldiers, including many who were originally from the Engineer Company. This was also a deliberate arrangement made by Mao Feng to strengthen the First Battalion and build it into a "fist unit".

  The whole regiment is the best, which is also a reality. The result is that all officers and soldiers in the regiment are extremely proud, with pride from the bone! Similarly, one regiment was also the most affected by Mao Feng's influence, and the engineer battalion had to take a step back! Mao Feng's emphasis on equality and the habit of eating and living together made this army the most receptive to communist ideology.

  Mao Feng's strict orders led to a thorough investigation, and the progress was extremely rapid. Mao Feng's prestige naturally spread to all aspects. After receiving the results of the investigation, he also let out a sigh of relief.

  Mao Feng stared coldly at Liu Chun, who had come to deliver the inspection report. Yang Yongtai was also present. Liu Chun didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and it was strange that he, who never yielded to anyone, would yield to Mao Feng alone. It can be said that one person subdued another!

  "Look at you, what's all this?! Can't you even lead a company properly?! Huh?! If not, get out of my sight immediately!"

  Liu Chun's sweat dripped down non-stop, he straightened his body and shouted loudly: "Commander, I will never make the same mistake again! If there is a second time, Commander, you can shoot me with one bullet!"

  Mao Zedong did not really want to severely punish Liu Chun, after all, he himself also bore a great responsibility for this matter. Liu Chun was a talented general, but when it came to ideological work, he was completely useless.

  Yang Yongtai said at this time on the side: "Commander, I think Captain Liu also knows his own mistakes. In this matter, I am also responsible. I didn't pay attention to this aspect of my work, which created a loophole and gave others an opportunity! For this, I request that the commander punish me!"

  Liu Chun saw Yang Yongtai like this, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude in his heart. He had a natural distrust of intellectuals or bookworms, thinking that men should be tough and take action, while talking was something only women did! So he never took people like Yang Yongtai seriously, and it was only because of the commander's relationship that he reluctantly accepted him.

  Liu Chun did not expect this person to share the responsibility, it's a great favor! Liu Chun looked at Yang Yongtai with gratitude, but Yang Yongtai remained calm and composed, as if he hadn't seen Liu Chun's expression.

  Mao Feng's low voice said, "This matter can't be blamed on you, after all it's also my dereliction of duty! I didn't expect such a situation to occur! Never mind, Liu Chun, I had a bad temper just now, don't take it to heart."

  Liu Chun was a hot-blooded man, and when he heard the commander apologize to him like this, he was immediately moved and also felt a little scared. He hastily said: "This is not the commander's fault, it's because I didn't do my job well. Please don't worry, Commander, from now on I will definitely pay attention to this aspect and absolutely won't let something like this happen again! I also understand that the enemy has not only hard knives but also soft knives!"

  Looking at Liu Chun, Mao Feng nodded and said: "Fortunately, the discovery was timely. You still have some credit for this. Fortunately, it was just a few articles, and no one from that side came to launch and spread these ideas. The soldiers who are going to persuade and educate should be the main ones. If they still don't work, then send them away! Give each person their fare!"

  "What? Still want to send money?! These people are already dead! Damn it!" Liu Chun exclaimed.

  Yang Yongtai said on the side: "Commander, this matter has a great impact, although the commander is kind and cannot bear to kill, but if so, will there be such things happening next time? Can't be too careful! Yang thinks that necessary lessons are still needed! Cannot be soft-hearted!"

  Maofeng's thoughts turned to the future, thinking about the direction of history, he smiled bitterly again and again. His unusual behavior made Yang Yongtai very surprised, he couldn't understand why the commander would have such a reaction, was there something else going on that he didn't know about? Thinking of this, Yang Yongtai immediately began to ponder the pros and cons of the matter again, he was afraid of missing out on his own negligence! But he never thought that Maofeng was an existence from the future.

  He let out a deep sigh and said, "I naturally know these things. Now I don't want to make too many enemies, so this time it's just going to be like that. If there is a next time, then you can't blame me, Mao, for being ruthless! Of course, if they know what's good for them, then they won't act like this!"

  He paused for a moment, and then continued: "I have already given the order that not only this battalion but all other battalions must strengthen their work in this area. One incident is enough! Besides, there is no intelligence to suggest that it was ordered by the enemy, now everything depends on these few books! Killing them would be unjust."

  After Liu Chun left, Yang Yongtai looked at Mao Feng and asked with great interest: "Mr. Yang, is there a flower on Mao's face?"

  Yang Yongtai shook his head and said: "I think the commander must have a plan, definitely has a plan, I don't know if the commander can reveal one or two?"

  Mao Feng's smile faded as he said, "You're really overestimating me, I don't have any grand ideas!" After finishing speaking, the smile on his face disappeared, and he became serious, saying: "However, I attach great importance to this party faction. Although it is far inferior to the Nationalist Party at present, its development prospects are extremely vast."

  Yang Yongtai nodded and said, "I also saw these articles. I heard that there are many experts in this field on the side of the Nationalist Party, such as Zhang Jingjiang and Dai Jitao! It can be seen that their theories are not entirely useless."

  "It's not just that, their targets are not just merchants and officials, but mainly farmers and workers. You can imagine how many people there are nationwide, if all these people support this party, what kind of scene would it be, and what kind of result?"

  "Ah!" Yang Yongtai was so clever, he immediately reacted and said: "That's a peasant uprising! No, there are workers too! The countryside and towns are all caught in the net!"

  "Any party that is established has its own ambitions, the difference lies only in their magnitude. Although this party was just established, because their claims do not conform to the interests of China's traditional forces, they have encountered many difficulties. If they were to gain momentum, it would be like a wildfire that cannot be extinguished, and with the arrival of spring, it will sprout again!" Yang Yongtai continued to say.

  Mao Zedong didn't know, he also thought that this was an understatement. However, it wasn't yet mature until the end of the 1930s, when this party finally took the right path and had fertile ground for growth, thanks to the leadership of a great man. Now? Not worth mentioning.

  Mao Feng waved his hand and said: "It's still not the right time, let's wait and see in the future! What's important now is Guomin D, Mr. Sun, and those local power holders!"

  Yang Yongtai said loudly: "The local forces are not enough to worry about, they are a plate of loose sand, each with their own interests. Even if they can unite for a short time, it is impossible to be so forever!"

  Yang Yongtai got up and walked while saying: "I think that dealing with them can be summed up in one sentence!"

  "Oh? Which sentence is it? I'm all ears!" Mao Feng's eyes lit up as he said.

  "Three parts military, seven parts politics!" Yang Yongtai threw out this sentence directly.

  Hmm? Mao Feng felt that this sentence was very familiar, he had heard it before, of course, this was his later generation. He suddenly raised his head to look at Yang Yongtai, Mao Feng thought in his heart, could it be that this sentence was said by this person? Then he is really a great talent! Old Jiang also heard this sentence, and only then did the local warlords disintegrate!

  It must be said that the core of this sentence is very sharp, and it directly analyzes the relationship between local warlords very clearly. Mao Feng's hesitation said: "Mr. means, far away from each other, step by step to subvert, for those who cannot be won over, also take military suppression?"

  Yang Yongtai smiled and said: "Commander, isn't that what we're doing now? Winning over local figures, combining strength and flexibility, the progress of the Mei River campaign has been very smooth so far. Next, we will face the Yunnan-Guizhou army, Chen Jiongming's remnants, Xu Chongzhi's troops, and the Fujian local forces!"

  Yang Yongtai paused for a moment and continued: "The Yunnan troops must be defeated once, so that they dare not act rashly. As for the remnants of Chen Jiongming's forces, Commander can rely on Lin Hu's influence to recruit them through political means! Since Zhang Jingjiang has already understood the commander's intention, Mr. Sun will not take direct military action, let alone Xu Chongzhi is also afraid of damaging his own strength, and the Fujian forces are still concerned about preserving their interests in Fujian, as for other things they can't afford to care about now!"

  "Sir, it seems you've forgotten there's still one more?"

  Yang Yongtai smiled and said, "Commander, don't you have any way out? This is nothing! The general knows very well that once he loses, it's inevitable for him to retreat. To make a comeback, he must hand over the troops to a capable subordinate. Looking at Lin Hu's subordinates, who else is more suitable than Commander? General Lin Hu must have thought of this situation long ago. He can't not have thought of such a scenario. I heard that Lin Hu has transferred most of the property confiscated from the Gu family to Hong Kong! Are you still going to pretend to be ignorant, Commander?"